Inside Her Story: ‘It’s Okay To Be Nude’

How comfortable are you with your body? Would you be okay hanging out with a group of friends in your birthday suit?

Jacque Reid goes Inside Her Story with Shatora Thomas, co-founder of the Black Naturist Association. Thomas wants everyone to be comfortable enough in their body to be publicly nude.

Nudity is often associated with sex and sexuality, but Thomas says that’s not what they’re about and they are “looking forward to breaking those stereotypes around nudity.” To insure the safety of their members, they do background checks on everyone before allowing them to join the group. Their main message is that, “it’s okay to be nude.”

The group started with 8 friends who love to travel and love being nude. Their first experience was visiting a nude beach in Miami; Thomas says being nude for the first time is “like ripping off a band-aid, you don’t know what to expect.” But once she realized that no one was staring at her and everyone was there to enjoy themselves, she had a great time; and nothing has been the same since.

“It is truly freeing,” she said. Their next trip is to Haiti, it’s in November and has one spot left.

You can find the Black Naturist Association on Twitter and Instagram at @BlackNaturist.